


To my Best Friend

by BonJiro



Category: The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time
Genre: Aimed at readers who have a lot of feelings about OoT, Dear John Letter, Emotions, Friendships with videogame characters, Gen, Hero of Time, Oneshot, Written by Link, letter to the reader, reference to Twilight Princess
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-07
Updated: 2015-08-07
Packaged: 2018-04-13 10:57:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,100
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4519239
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BonJiro/pseuds/BonJiro
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sealed in a little red envelope it seems so humble, double stamped with a speciality post sticker in the shape of a rabbit.</p><p>It’s addressed to you, but it has travelled all over, and by some miracle it has found you though it only bears your name. The handwriting on it is penned with a slightly messy, though unmistakable Hylian hand…</p><p>This is Link’s letter to you.</p>
            </blockquote>





	To my Best Friend

To my best friend,

I hope you don’t mind me sending you this letter… You know me, I never was very good with words. I know there’s been a lot of things going on lately, but the Postman has always been reliable, even when things hit their worst—I’ve given him this letter and I sent it speciality. It cost me a few extra rupees, but I don’t mind…

To be honest, if it reaches you, I’d be surprised. I’m not even sure where to address it to or how it will cross such a huge distance now, but if anybody can work a miracle on only two stamps, it’s our Postman.

You remember when we first met? I’ll never forget it.

We were both so young. It’s funny, when I look back… Neither of us ever expected to have formed the bond we did. Even all those years ago, though, I knew it was going to be special.

At first, I actually thought you were kind of bossy. It always seemed like you were the one to choose where we went and what we did, telling me what to do. It’s okay though, because no matter what we did, we always had fun playing together, didn’t we? You were right most of the time, anyway, and even you weren’t we could always figure it out together.

I can’t even imagine what my life would’ve been like if I didn’t know you. I probably would’ve kept on sleeping, if you weren’t there to wake me up and drag me out into the world.

Even as we got older, it was the same. We changed a bit over the years, huh? I still can’t believe I never caught your colds, thinking back on how many times I kept you company when you got sick.

(Not to mention keeping your secret when you were only pretending to be sick.)

I remember when you got that haircut you hated, and you were unhappy about it because it didn’t turn out the way you wanted. It didn’t look nearly as bad as you thought it did, of course, but you probably don’t believe me. Hey, at least it wasn’t bright pink, right?

Speaking of hair, what about the time we went fishing together and you cast your line towards the manager’s hat? Ha! To think, we wasted all that time looking for the sinking lure when we could’ve just done that right from the start for him to yell at us. Poor old guy, I hope I never go bald… but the fish you caught that day was a whopper, wasn’t it?

We finally did catch that loach, though! How many days did we spend looking for that one fish, again? I lost count. It put up a pretty big fight for such a little guy… it almost reminds me of you, you’re a bit like that as well. I know, I’m sorry—you probably want to smack me for saying you’re like a fish, right? Just so you know, you’d make a pretty decent looking Zora, I’d bet.

(Good thing Princess Ruto will never know I said that. She was a little disappointed over our engagement plans falling through and all… I still owe you one for that awkward situation, too. If you’re anything like me, you probably still think of the Water temple and cringe.)

I know it’s not the most happy news either, but I never did find Navi again. I just thought I’d let you know, in case you were wondering… I still miss her from time to time, but I think I’ve come to terms with it after Termina. Kafei and Anju did finally get married properly, with a big ceremony too, and they’re going to start a family as soon as possible. I have a funny feeling that, if they have a boy, they may name their child after me. I’m not sure if I’d risk it myself, just in case the name brings him trouble… but I guess I can only be flattered, either way. I just hope Anju’s mother will be nicer to their children than she is to their father.

I don’t know if I’ll ever get married. You’re probably the only person that would know what I mean, but I don’t think it would be fair of me to the wife. I never did plan things out very far, I just went ahead and did them. I still love to travel, too… you and I might be used to spending a cold night or two out in the fields, but I don’t think many women would feel the same as us. If anything ever happened and I couldn’t come home, or even if I got myself killed (and you and I both know we’ve had our share of near misses) I would feel terrible about having a wife at home that never saw me again.

Talon still jokes about my marrying Malon every now and again, but each year, I think he gets a little more serious. If Malon ever did become my wife and something happened, I’d fight twice as hard just so she’d never have to wonder if I’d come back from a battle. She’s such a kind person, I’d never forgive myself if she got hurt because of me, no matter how or why. She worries for me enough as things are.

That’s just me, I guess. I don’t really want to be missed or mourned when I finally do go. I know you think it can’t be helped, and that there’s too many people that have let me touch their lives… maybe it’s wishful thinking on my part, but I always felt at peace with that whole ‘going silently into the night’ end. Even if I can’t help that people will be pained by it, I’d rather lessen the blow by passing away privately and just letting everyone wonder what became of me and why they haven’t seen me around of late. My spirit will always be here in Hyrule, after all, it isn’t like I’ll ever really leave.

But, I’ll get off the subject, now… I know you hate thinking about the day we won’t see each other again.

Epona is doing well. She’s getting on a bit now, but she’s still as healthy as ever. I think she misses you, too. You always gave her more carrots than she really needed, though, I don’t blame her for having a soft spot for you! I think she actually runs her fastest when you’re around… Lately, I’ve been working on my horseback archery again, too. I really do have to give you credit on that one—if you hadn’t kept an eye out on all those Gerudo guards, I don’t think I ever would’ve gotten that membership from them.

I guess it just goes to show you that even when you think you’re in the clear, somebody might still be watching… but then, that’s only a bad thing if you’re doing something wrong.

Besides, those carpenters were pretty friendly, apart from their boss. But, I guess I might be a little annoyed too if my men ran off to join a gang when they were supposed to be on the job… but despite his temper, Mutoh’s wife in Kakariko makes some of the best cucco stew I’ve ever tasted. She never did turn us away, either, even when we turned up in the dead of night.

You know me, I can’t cook to save Hyrule. I hope you’ve improved for the both of us.

Remember that time you handed me the bottle with bugs in it instead of milk? …I’ll get you for that some day. Don’t think I’ve forgotten about all those ledges you pushed me off of, either. I nearly broke my ankles that day you dared me to jump down the well. (You could have warned me that the song we played drained the water out of it, first…)

That guy still hasn’t forgiven me for screwing up the windmill back then, either.

You were always there for me, though. Through thick and thin, even when things seemed so bad there was no way we could fix it, you stuck by me anyway. You never let me give up, and I don’t know how to thank you enough for that.

You were there when I left the forest for the first time. When we said goodbye to Saria on the bridge and she gave me that ocarina, I just didn’t know what to say. It’s a good thing you were there to push me forward, or I might have been frozen there permanently… I knew you felt bad about it too. I was pretty nervous about setting out, but you seemed so confident that I stopped thinking about it and before I knew it, we were at the castle gates. I can’t believe we didn’t realise the first time that the drawbridge closed at night… I never wanted to get caught outside at night again. Every time the sun started to go down when we were in the field from then on, we’d run like mad to try and get to Castle Town and panic if we didn’t make it. At least Lon Lon Ranch was never far away when the Stallchildren did come out.

You were right there with me when my nightmare came true. I could hardly believe it at the time… When I think back on it, Ganondorf towered over us on that giant horse of his. You just stared at him like you couldn’t believe we were face to face with evil. I don’t blame you either, it was one thing to see him through the window, but that day was completely different. You noticed the black clouds before I did when we were walking back up the river from the Domain. I wish I’d listened to you sooner when you started to think something wasn’t right, but really, I guess there wasn’t anything we could do about it by then.

I’ll never forget that soldier in the back alley that day. If we’d had more time, I’d have liked to give him a proper burial, but with that armour we probably wouldn’t have been able to carry him. You were right anyway, the best thing to do at the time was what Zelda asked… I’m glad you were with me to draw the Master Sword. We earned it together, and I wouldn’t have wanted to share that moment with anybody else.

Times are changing here in Hyrule since the last time you were here. Little by little, the world gets a bit more different each day. I’ve learned a few new techniques as well (if you don’t mind me bragging a bit), and met a few interesting people that you’ll love when you visit again. I still snore, but it’s not like we ever seem to sleep when we get together. Seems like we’re always too busy making up for lost time. Castle Town looks pretty different as well now, and there’s new shops opening around the place, but it’s all still the same sorts of things for sale. They’ve shut down the Bombchu Bowling Alley too, sad to say… but there’s still a few shooting galleries going strong.

I hardly even recognise Kakariko anymore, and the Castle has been undergoing an expansion and a bit of a rebuild to suit the more modern times (Well, modern here. I know you’re a little ahead of Hyrule in terms of technology where you are). The forest is still as thick as ever, but the Kokiri seem to have travelled deeper inward for protection as the Kingdom expands. There’s a small settlement forming around the edge of the treeline, and I hear the area is well suited to farming goats.

There’s also a group of royal cartographers travelling to the north west to annex the snowy mountains up there, and add it to Hyrule’s maps. I don’t really like the cold, so I don’t think I’ll be heading that way any time soon… You remember how I was when Zora’s domain froze over. I couldn’t stop sneezing. On that note too, a cold snap up in those mountains has rerouted a couple of rivers over the past decade or so, and the Zora’s have shifted north because of it. For the moment, their domain is still in the east, but I’ve heard rumours that they’re in talks with the Royal family to claim the new water source up north as more of their tribe travel to live there.

As for me, I’ve been helping old Ingo around the ranch lately and breaking in the horses. I help Malon train them, and she and I are even closer than before. I like it here, taking things easier for a while, but I won’t lie to you. I do miss being a Hero. I miss having you in my life, as well, and more often than not I sit under the stars at night and think about those old days. Hyrule is peaceful again, but I can’t help but feel like I don’t really belong here anymore. I can’t talk to anybody about what happened, of course. People just don’t seem to understand the costs involved with time travel, and sometimes, I don’t think I do either.

The more time goes on, the more regret I’m finding seeps up through the cracks. I don’t want to worry you or anything, but you’re the only person I can really tell. I don’t see much of Zelda these days either, but you can take my word for it that she’s gone above and beyond what a good Queen should be. I’ll always think about her, and I know she’ll always care about me too, but we’ve played our parts and now we’ve got different paths. I still get invitations to attend festivals as an honoured guest of the Royal family for my services, and to be fair, I see her more often than I would otherwise, given how status separates us now. I understand, of course, she has a whole country on her shoulders. I know that feeling all too well, and I don’t want to make anything harder on her than it has to be. We’ve done the right thing.

Every year, she offers me a knightship as part of the royal guard, but I decline it each time. I know she gets a little disappointed, but I always felt that it would remind us too much of our past. Zelda and I have a special bond, but we can never be more than friends… I suppose I’ve avoided the chance that if I spent more time around her, it would burden our hearts with what we’ll never have instead.

But even I can’t deny that the new soldiers need better guidance, and with the skill and experience I’ve built up over borrowed time, I know I could make a big difference among their ranks. In the fight to capture Ganondorf, quite a few good men were lost, and so were a few good Gerudo warriors. It hurts to think that I’ve seen that they could’ve had longer lives, and met them in a future that will never be. More painful still to know that those women gave their lives to a man that would’ve betrayed them all, given the chance.

Malon has been encouraging me to take up the offer lately, and she often tells me to take some credit for my help in Ganondorf’s capture… That’s all people know, now. Since I set the Master Sword back, the new future has unfolded like we planned, and I kept Courage safe when I brought it back with me the first time. Zelda worries that my bringing my piece back might have been a slight mistake on her part—she has her piece of Wisdom as well, and she once said that may mean Power lies dormant in the Gerudo even now, waiting for him to call it up.

Even though he was captured, the fact that his punishment was—for the most part—based on intent this time around has meant a lengthy trial and a lot of political back and forth. Even while he waits imprisoned, there are still charges and crimes being accounted for and processed accordingly. The more things come to light, though, the closer he seems to an execution… but everyday that passes by poses the risk of his discovering that dormant blessing within him.

That plays on my mind a bit, too. When I said before that if anything happened, I’d feel guilty to leave a wife to grieve me? Well, to be truthful, I think most of that stems from the worry that, one day, Ganondorf may still threaten Hyrule like he had planned to—especially if he has Power on his side.

That’s why I think this year I’m going to take Zelda up on that knightship, so that I’m there for her if anything like that does happen again. I’ll be right there, and my sword arm will be as sharp and swift as ever, ready to take him down again. I hope it never comes to that… But just between you and me, I think a small part of me yearns to do it all again.

Besides all that, too, a military wage wouldn’t go astray to hire on a few more hands around the ranch.

That’s why I’ve written you this letter, I suppose. You understand me like nobody else, and you’ve been right there with me on every step of my journey. There’s many things that have changed since the last time you were here, and I don’t know what will become of me… I can only wish you all the best out there, too, wherever you are now. I don’t know if I’ll see you again, even though it pains me to think about it, but I wanted to let you know that I’ll always remember you and I hope you’ll do the same for me.

We grew up together… and it is my deepest wish that we’ll also grow old together. But if we don’t, know that you were always a part of me. No matter what evils we face, or what life throws at the both of us, you’re always welcome at my door.

The day I met you was the day my life truly began, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

Not for all the hearts in the world.

—Link


End file.
